Wayne State University Athletics

Sabine Branford swam five races for the Warriors at Oakland.

Men's Swimming & Diving 9/14/2023 8:27:00 PM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Men's and Women's Swimming Commences Season At Oakland

ROCHESTER, Mich. -- The Wayne State University men's and women's swimming squads began the 2023-24 campaign with an early season meet at Division 1 Oakland University Thursday evening.

No team scores were kept for the meet.

QUOTING COACH SEAN PETERS
"Overall, we were excited to perform and there were a lot of promise for a competition within the first couple weeks of the season. I enjoyed welcoming our new Warriors to their first collegiate meet, and I was really pleased with the camaraderie and the spirit of this team. We now have a month before our next competition, and eager to work with everyone to make adjustments we saw today and see some nice improvements."

The first event was the Mixed 200 Medley Relay with WSU's top quartet consisting of junior Clayton Kinnard (Dexter, Mich.), junior Joey Dombkowski (Canton, Mich. / Detroit Catholic Central), senior Barbara Munoz (Yumbo, Colombia) and junior Sabine Branford (Plymouth, Mich. / Salem). This veteran group placed third in a time of 1:40.92.

In the women's 200 free, newcomer Sav Mouat (Tecumseh, Ont. / All Saints Catholic) finished fourth in a time of 1:59.48.

Junior Trevor Jones (Farmington, Mich.) placed second in the men's 200 free with a time of 1:42.06.

Freshman Danika Fessenden (Cedar Springs, Mich. Grand Rapids Northview) paced WSU in the 50 fly with a third-place time of 27.79.

Redshirt freshman Lorenzo Tassinari (Ravenna, Italy), who joined the Warriors last January, finished fourth in the 50 fly with a time of 23.45.

Sophomore Elly Belmore (St. Clair Shores, Mich. / Lakeview) posted Wayne State's top time in the 50 back (28.71), while Kinnard led the men's team with a time of 25.00.

In the women's 50 breast, junior Julia Katulski (Novi, Mich.) touched the wall in 33.07 to lead the squad. For the men, Dombkowski had the best Warrior time finishing in 26.35.

In the women's 50 free, Branford swam a 25.62, then later swam a 25.66 and a 25.58. Jones notched a time of 21.86 to pace the men in the first heat, then swam a 22.32 in the second heat, and 21.81 in the third heat.

In the 50 fly, Munoz recorded a time of 26.97 (27.47 in the second heat), while Tassinari led the men's squad with a time of 23.60 (23.54 in the second heat).

Belmore swam a 29.00 (28.64 in the second heat) for the 50 back for the ladies team, while Kinnard touched the wall in 24.91 (24.82 in the second heat).

Katulski had a time of 33.26 (33.43 in the second heat) for the 50 breast, with Dombkowski leading the men with a time of 26.44 (26.56 in the second heat).

Belmore completed the 100 IM in 1:03.66, while Kinnard led the men's squad in 54.06.

Wayne State's top quartet in the Mixed 500 free relay consisted of Munoz, redshirt junior James Violassi (West Bloomfield, Mich. / North Farmington), Branford, and junior Ryan Kruger (Livonia, Mich. / Churchill) who earned a time of 3:56.58.

For complete results, please view the PDF.

UP NEXT
The divers will head to Clarion, Pa., for the Don Leas Diving Invitational on October 13-14.

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Players Mentioned

Joey Dombkowski: Breast; 6' 1"; Junior

Trevor Jones: Fly/Free/IM; 6' 2"; Graduate Student

Clayton Kinnard: Free; 6' 0"; Junior

Ryan Kruger: Sprint Free; 6' 0"; Junior

Lorenzo Tassinari: Back; 6' 3"; Redshirt Freshman

James Violassi: Sprint Free; 5' 10"; Redshirt Junior

Elly Belmore: IM/Breast; 5' 6"; Sophomore

Sabine Branford: Sprint Free; 6' 1"; Junior

Danika Fessenden: Free/Fly; 5' 10"; Freshman

Julia Katulski: Sprint Free; 5' 10"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Joey Dombkowski
: 6' 1"; Junior
: Breast

Trevor Jones
: 6' 2"; Graduate Student
: Fly/Free/IM

Clayton Kinnard
: 6' 0"; Junior
: Free

Ryan Kruger
: 6' 0"; Junior
: Sprint Free

Lorenzo Tassinari
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Freshman
: Back

James Violassi
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Junior
: Sprint Free

Elly Belmore
: 5' 6"; Sophomore
: IM/Breast

Sabine Branford
: 6' 1"; Junior
: Sprint Free

Danika Fessenden
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: Free/Fly

Julia Katulski
: 5' 10"; Junior
: Sprint Free